Sony Ericsson has just announced the launch of its Bluetooth VoIP Kit HBV-100, a high performance kit for VoIP calls via internet. The Bluetooth VoIP Kit HBV-100 is a perfect pack for the PC users to keep touch with friends and family over the internet, though the Mac users cannot take the advantages of this latest VoIP kit. The Kit consists of a Bluetooth headset HBH-PV705 and a Bluetooth USB Adaptor. The headset provides prefect sound quality, long talk and stand by times. The Bluetooth USB Adaptor plugs into your Windows XP PC and follows a simple installation process like other global internet telephony software. Pre-loaded with the blue colored HBV-PV705 and two communicate wirelessly, the USB adopter provides handsfree internet calling solution.
TabletMedia’s PTT VoIP now operates on Windows Mobile, Windows CE
Targeting the vertical VoIP markets, TabletMedia has upgraded its wireless peer-to-peer PTT (Push-to-Talk)VoIP software to integrate with Windows CE devices and Windows mobile. The newest VoIP software iTalkie performances walkie-talkie-like functionality over WiFi networks in the absence of a server. It supports both one-to-one direct calling and one-to-many paging. At present, iTalkie operates on Windows Mobile 2003 and 5.0, and Windows CE 4.2 and 5.0. The company would further update the iTalkie to Support Windows Embedded CE 6.0 during the first quarter of next year. I found following features from company’s website 1.WiFi signal indicator 2.Enriched sound quality 3.Supports up to 999 channels 4.Power Management to enhance battery life 5.Support Windows Mobile 2003 and 5.0 6.Supports Windows CE 4.2 and 5.0 7.Emergency Channel 8.Presence indication 9.One to one direct calling with full-duplex voice 10.One to many paging 11.Supports PTT button in selected devices 12.Background operation 13.Network usage optimization and management The company claims that iTalkie will be highly beneficial for vertical markets including retail, warehousing, and healthcare units that need a simply instable system, mainly in multi-site organizations with few terminals per site.
AU-100 VoIP USB Phone comes as Christmas gift for customer
What could be the most favorable time to sell a product in the market than the Christmas? To lure the customers, the market players are coming up with attractive features and prices to sell their VoIP phones. However, I can bet on AU-100 VoIP USB when I came to know that the latest phone would be available for just $6 during the Christmas. It is like a Christmas gift for VoIP customers. After all, they can have the handheld set at a nominal rate. Geek.com is making a rebate of $40 on the phone. Thus, it’s a free deal for the customers. Commenting on the phone, it is compatible with Skype, Vonage, Net2Phone, X-Ten, StanaPhone, SJPhone, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Firefly and eyeBeam.
Are we seeing DECT VoIP phones?
VoIP revolution is at its budding stage. It has to achieve many more things in the coming days. Especially, this technology should be applied to all forms of telecommunications. Joining in the ongoing VoIP revolution, the manufacturers of cordless digital telephones have decided to provide IP based services in the DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) phones. The developers of DECT phones plan to add IP capability to a new generation of home communication and entertainment devices. The decision was taken at the DECT forum, which was held in Hong Kong. The DECT phones would easily connect to broadband IP networks and provide a range of services including VOIP, Web-based phone directories and audio streaming. The first line of products would be available during the Q3 of 2007.The manufacturers plan to add audio streaming by mid-2008 and additional features planned through the end of the decade. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is likely to consent a new release of the CAT-iq standard early next year. The new IP-enabled phones will consume the same frequency band already allocated to DECT and encompass the equal range of approximately 300 meters.
India to ban illegal VoIP
The government of India has decided to ban illegal VoIP services operating in the country. The BPOs and other call centers using VoIP services of unlicensed service providers will face clampdown. The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) will very soon come up with stringent rules and regulations to block the illegal internet telephony services that kill government revenue. An Economictimes report explains the telecom department is introducing a provision that compels the ITes companies to furnish the names of authorized service providers from whom bandwidth and internet minutes have taken. The companies must also submit an undertaking that they will not use the services of unlicensed service providers including Skype, Vonage, Yahoo!, Net2Phone, Dialpad, Impetus, Novanet and Euros. According to DoT, the above-unlicensed service providers offer 30 million minutes of IP telephony services every month to corporate sectors, call centers and BPOs in India. They do not pay 12 percent service tax and six percent of revenue share. For which, the government is losing revenue share on internet telephony. If the rules were implemented, then the global giants like Skype, Yahoo!, Vonage, Net2Phone, Dialpad , Impetus, Novanet and Euros would no longer run their operation in Indian territory.
Nortel reaches India
Acknowledging India as a potential market for VoIP, Nortel has decided to establish a global Network Management Centre (NMC) in Delhi. The Delhi centre would be third major NMC of Nortel. The first two centers are located in London and California. The Delhi NMC is also Nortel’s first major VoIP network centre in Asia. Canada-based VoIP outfit has reached out a five-year agreement with Indian mobile service provider Bharti Airtel. Under the agreement, Nortel would host Airtel’s contact centre and interactive voice response services in several languages. Ravi Chauhan, Nortel India’s Managing Director explained, we are alone in offering an end-to-end solution for telecom network management, including the industry’s first real time support for VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony with voice quality. Nortel will start trials this month in the Delhi and Gurgaon areas for fixed WiMax broadband Internet. With more than 100 million mobile phone subscribers, India is now a potential VoIP market. It is the fifth largest country in the world in terms of mobile phone subscribers.
Australian Productivity Commission goes for VoIP
Satisfied with ADx2′s report on VoIP, the Australian Productivity Commission has geared up to transfer some of its telephony infrastructure to a VoIP solution. The commission has led discussion with nation’s VoIP vendors to chock out plans for the replacement of TDM PABX telephony systems with IP alternatives, reports ZDNet Australia. The Productivity Commission has been recognized as the principle review and advisory body to Australian government on microeconomic policy and regulation. The commission develops economic policies to enhance national productivity and living standards. It has nearly 200 employees. Brian Scammell, assistant commissioner of Productivity Commission cleared that IP telephony would be deployed as a replacement solution in the agency’s Melbourne office and new Canberra office, which is now under construction. The Productivity commission is the latest government agency to opt for VoIP. With this approval, VoIP achieves a major feat in Australia.
Jeff’s predictions on 2007 VoIP industry
Jeff Pulver as I know is one of the smart bloggers of the current IP industry. I went through his 2007 predictions for IP Communications Industry. In fact, Pulver’s predictions are based on minimal of biasness or no bias. Jeff has strongly argued, While the hype surrounding Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) will grow during 2007, the FMC marketplace will continue to stagnate until such time that software becomes widely available for dual model phones that offer seamless roaming across unaffiliated wifi/wimax hotspots. Highlights 1.Enterprises to amalgamate their communication networks 2.Growth will persist in IP Peering between service providers. 3.The PSTN to turn into the IP-based public communications network of the future. 4.Cable Operators to apply new solutions to connect their voice subscribers to 3G Mobile Networks 5.Rise of Independent voice over broadband service providers 6.IP TV will dominate year 2007. 7.Legal hassles in the field of digital rights and copyright protection seems to be resolved In conclusion Jeff says, Although regulators and legislators will begin to better appreciate the power of IP technology to dramatically improve emergency response and disabilities access capabilities, Lobbyists and Policymakers and traditional telecom and video providers in the US will continue to try to apply legacy rules and regulations on Internet based applications, be it voice, television or radio. See the first significant regulator attempts to regulate indecency and other content on the Internet.
Genius unveils Navigator 380 VoIP Mouse
Genius is really genius. The Taiwan-based company has mastered a latest VoIP mouse that supports up to six Instant Messages from Skype, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, QQ and AIM and combines them into a single window. Dubbed as Genius Navigator 380, the latest mouse has a different look and unique style. It integrates VoIP phone functions into a mouse. It contains seven buttons for the basic phone functions such as Phone on/off, List up/List down, Volume up/down and so on. At the same time, you can take it with your notebook anywhere. Featuring a 1200 dpi optical engine, the phone will alert you for the incoming call. Sandeep Ramani, country manager, KYE Systems (India), explains, With the unveiling of this futuristic product ,Genius Navigator 380, I hope Genius, will go a long way to mark an era of innovative products and will accentuate particularly on nextgen products in future also. In a nut shell, this revolutionary device is an absolute necessity for a frequent traveller to reduce one’s burden and increase work efficiency. The price of Navigator 380 is just of Rs 1,850. It is now available in India.
Hictu!: A new Internet address book with presence
While browsing net for today’s VoIP stories, I found out a very interesting thing from Tom Keating’s blog about Hictu!, an online address book which is supposed to address the common problem that we face while organizing VoIP contacts. We are very obsessive to keep different accounts to keep touch with our friends. We have a good reason to do so. However, searching online friends through different clients is really boring as well as painful. Thanks I am an exceptional case to it. However, if you have bunch of email contacts, do not worry, Abbeynet has come up with Hictu to make you cool. Hictu! has been integrated with several popular IM/VoIP clients including MSN, Skype, Jabber, AIM, ICQ, Abbeyphone and Sitofono. With Hictu, you will get following features: GTalk presence SightSpeed presence Gizmo Project presence Mobile presence (applicable to Symbian and Java Client) Click to Call Hictu! widget Premium account (SMS, VoIP etc.) SuperStatus FREE voicemail To start with Hictu, simply select a password and enter a valid mail address.Check it out.